1999-05-18 04:00:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Over the objections of area merchants, but to the delight of cyclists, the Board of Supervisors has approved the creation of bike lanes along Polk Street.

"One of the best things we can do to improve the quality of life in San Francisco is to provide safe alternatives to driving," Supervisor Leslie Katz said Monday.

"Bicycles need dedicated bike lanes."

The project, approved 6-2 by the supervisors, calls for removing one of Polk Street's two southbound traffic lanes between Post and Turk streets, keeping the one northbound traffic lane and re-striping the street to accommodate bicycle lanes in both directions along the five-block stretch.

"My biggest concern is that people are going to avoid the businesses in a big way because there'll be increased traffic congestion," he said. Rather than driving down Polk Street, he added, drivers "are going to look for another route."

The board also unanimously adopted plans to create bicycle lanes along the residential Arguello Boulevard corridor between Fulton and Jackson streets - the route that connects Golden Gate Park and the Presidio.

Expansion of The City's bicycle network has been at the forefront of a push by activists to make San Francisco more bicycle-friendly. They grabbed City Hall's attention in the summer of 1997 when thousands of bicyclists took to the streets in protest for several Critical Mass rides that snarled rush-hour traffic.

Now, Dittenhafer said merchants are talking about organizing their own Critical Mass, this one for motorists.